Category: Electrical
How to Choose the Right Electrical Outlet for Your Home
Thinking of adding a new electrical outlet to your home? Here’s our 3-step process to make sure you install the right outlet for your home and your needs. Step 1: Know if you need GFCI and AFCI outlets Most electrical outlets in your home should have some sort of built-in safety device. And there are
Electrical Panels 101: A Homeowner’s Guide to Breaker Boxes
In this article, we’ll attempt to remove some of the mystery of your breaker box by explaining: What it is and why it’s important The different parts of the breaker box and what they do The different sizes of panels The lifespan of panels and circuit breakers What’s a breaker box? Electric panels take incoming
Which Appliances Need a Dedicated Circuit Installed?
A “dedicated circuit” is a circuit that serves only one home appliance. You’ll need a dedicated circuit for each of these major appliances: Refrigerator Freezer Electric range Microwave Water heater Washer Dryer Dishwasher/garbage disposal Furnace Heat pump Air conditioner (central and window) Sump pump Hot tub/Sauna/Jacuzzi The rule of thumb is this: If the appliance
Do I Need a New (Higher Amp) Electrical Panel/Box?
Does this sound familiar? Your circuit breakers randomly trip from using everyday appliances (like your microwave). It’s annoying and can potentially damage sensitive electronics. So maybe you think you need a larger electrical panel to handle more electrical devices in your home, right? Well, you may. But hold on. Upgrading to a new panel could
How Can I Tell If My House Needs Rewiring?
Do you have an older home? Your home may need rewiring for safety purposes. According to a 2008 study by the U.S Fire Administration (USFA), insulation around electrical wires are the leading cause (30%) of electrical fires in the U.S. These fires usually ignite in homes built 50+ years ago. So a house’s age is
Why Does My Smoke Detector Keep Going Off for No Reason?
Do you have a smoke detector that sounds an alarm when there’s no smoke or fire? We’re sure that creates a few scary heart-pumping midnight false alarms. You could change the battery, but that usually stops a fire detector from “chirping” (signalling that the battery needs to be changed). In fact, the City of Phoenix
Christmas Lights Safety: Use These 4 Inexpensive Tools to Prevent a Fire
It’s sad. Christmas should be a happy time. But many families get too gung-ho with their Christmas lights without taking safety precautions, which can lead to a fire. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), “Holiday lights and other decorative lighting with line voltage were involved in an estimated average of 150 home structure
Whole-House Surge Protectors vs. Power Strip Surge Protectors
Your expensive electronic equipment is sensitive. No, we don’t mean that it’s easy to hurt its feelings. We mean the circuitry is easy to ruin via power surges. All it takes is one large power surge to ruin your expensive electronic devices like your: Computer Big screen TV Kitchen appliances (fridge, stove, dishwasher, microwave, coffeemaker…)
Why Does My Circuit Breaker Keep Tripping?
Going outside to mess with your tripped circuit breaker can be overwhelming if you don’t know what or why it happened. If you’re not an electrician we’d suggest you contact one. Something may be seriously wrong with some electrical wires as to its overloading of current. A circuit breaker “trips” or shuts off the electrical flow to protect the
Lightning Proofing Your Home In Arizona
Thunder and Lightning storms don’t happen often in Phoenix, Arizona but when they do, the results can be brutal to homeowners. If your home is affected by lightning and you have minimal surge protectors for only specific appliances, you are only half way safe! Maybe you have a surge protector strip on specific outlets for
